Scandal of the (non) recycling of plastics in Belgium (and elsewhere)

Environmental impact of end of life products: plastics, chemicals, vehicles, agri-food marketing. direct recycling and recycling (upcycling or upcycling) and reuse of good items for the trash!
Christophe
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Scandal of the (non) recycling of plastics in Belgium (and elsewhere)




by Christophe » 18/09/19, 19:28

The hidden side of recycling and selective sorting, the foreseeable consequence of the closing the Chinese borders to our waste...

Belgium is however far ahead of France sorting level ... So if it is to end in landfill (or incinerator) in all cases ...

There are really rotten on Earth ... : Evil:

Considered to be recycled, Belgian waste found in clandestine landfills thousands of km from us

If this seems incredible at first glance, it is nevertheless real: Belgian waste ends up thousands of kilometers from our country, in Turkey or Malaysia in clandestine dumps. "Questions à la Une" investigated to understand the bottom line of sorting our Belgian waste.

On average, a Belgian consumes 15 kilos of PMC per year, and he would even be the European champion of recycling. By putting its waste bottles of shampoo and plastic bottles of laundry in our blue bags, we are persuaded not to deviate from the rule of selective sorting.

And yet, many packaging of these products that we use daily are poorly designed and therefore impossible to recycle. For example, tea bottles with full labels or famous bottles of ketchup that contain problematic additives, unsuitable for recycling.

They will then end up in landfills where tons of CO2 will be released into the air.

Vietnam, India, Turkey, Malaysia ... garbage cans of the West

In addition to household waste, the real major ecological problem concerns industrial waste: plastic waste from large-scale distribution, construction or services. In the absence of sufficient facilities here, this waste is massively sent abroad. Belgium is therefore the fifth largest exporter of waste in the world according to a GreenPeace report. Indeed, our plastic waste is sent in considerable quantities all over the world, in containers, mostly by sea.

Thus, in 2018, 530.000 tons of Belgian waste were exported to other continents, of which 33.000 tons landed in Malaysia.

Normally, this waste must end up in recycling plants. Yet, as our team has seen, our plastic packaging ends most often in wild dumps, where they rot or are incinerated in the open air. Dangerous practices for neighboring inhabitants and the environment. In Sungai Petani, a town located at 500 km from Kuala Lumpur, Dr. Tneoh Shen Jen sounds the alarm:

"In the medium term, this pollution will create cardiovascular diseases and in the longer term, there will be cancers. If we continue to throw this waste in our country, we will all become sick, and our earth will become poison ... Everything like our rivers and the water we drink. "

A global environmental crisis

Today, many countries refuse to accept waste from Europeans and operate "returns to sender" much more regularly. China, which previously received two-thirds of plastic waste produced in the world, decided to stop its importation in January 2018. Westerners are therefore turning to other states, including Malaysia which, for now , continues to import waste. But the scandals could push these "new importers" to refuse our waste in their turn.

In addition to these decisions made to respond to exporting countries, solutions to this waste problem are clear. For ecological associations in fact, reducing plastic consumption, improving waste treatment and, above all, becoming self-sufficient in terms of recycling would already be a huge step for the well-being of our planet.


Source + Video: https://www.rtbf.be/info/societe/detail ... n-malaisie

Some figures of recycling in Belgium: https://www.fostplus.be/fr/a-propos-de- ... graphiques
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Ahmed
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Re: Scandal of the (non) recycling of plastics in Belgium (and elsewhere)




by Ahmed » 18/09/19, 19:53

Would that be the origin of the expression "Hey, smoke, it's Belgian"?
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Christophe
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Re: Scandal of the (non) recycling of plastics in Belgium (and elsewhere)




by Christophe » 18/09/19, 20:04

No, since it's new! Roooh the other!

Then in France 90% (or more) PMC spend in incinerators ... so I think there is more smoke in France in this file! : Cheesy:

In 2 cases, it's a nice green scam and some grease on it!
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